Monounsaturated fat (these oils should be among your first choice)

Polyunsaturated fat (choose second)

Bad or Unhealthy Fats

In the United States, saturated fats come primarily from eating meat, poultry skin, egg yolks, and whole-milk dairy products. You can also find saturated fat in tropical oils like coconut, coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. Tropical oils are often found as ingredients in processed foods and fast foods.

Your body makes all the saturated fat you need, so there is no reason to eat it. While it would be nearly impossible to eliminate all saturated fat from your diet, you should avoid it when you can.

With too much LDL cholesterol in the blood, plaque forms in the walls of the arteries of the heart and other parts of the body. Plaque buildup in the arteries limits blood flow and, when it breaks apart, can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Trans Fats

Trans fatty acids, or trans fats, result from a manufacturing process in which liquid vegetable oil and hydrogen gas combine to make the oil a solid.

By partially hydrogenating vegetable oil, the oil becomes more stable and less likely to spoil. It also helps the oil withstand reheating without breaking down.

Most trans fats in the American diet come from margarines, snack foods, processed foods, commercially baked goods, and fried foods from restaurants.

Trans fats are worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDL cholesterol, lower good HDL cholesterol, and increase inflammation. Trans fats, even in very small amounts, can be harmful to your health.

How Much Fat to Eat

We recommend aiming for these amounts of fats in your daily diet:

Unsaturated fats

Fat should make up about 30% of the calories you eat each day. Most of these should be from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated (especially Omega 3 Fatty Acid) sources. As general rule, choose unsaturated fats (usually in plant-based foods) over saturated fats (usually in animal-based foods or processed foods) as much as possible.

Saturated fats

Seven percent of total daily calories or lower. Keep your saturated fats as low as possible by limiting your intake of red meat, whole dairy products, egg yolks, fast foods, and highly processed foods. Think of animal products as side dishes, rather than main dishes.

Trans fats

No more than two grams a day. Even better, completely eliminate from your diet, if possible.